Trouble in Purgatory
by Miss Pataki
Summary: Halloweentown seems to be heaven now that Jack and Sally live a nearly stress-free life. However, it may become hell when secrets lurk at every turn and their children go missing...


"Trouble in Purgatory" by Miss Pataki

Part One

A/N:  A while back I read a "sequel" to tNBC and it absolutely horrified me.  I remember thinking, "Oh my gosh, Jack would never act that way!"  And so, I set out to write my own sequel, which is what you're reading.

Disclaimer:  I don't own tNBC, but I do own my created characters (Lirit, Pan, Isobel, etc).

Seems like you're making a mess.                                                                                                                                                                                                                  You're hell on wheels in a

**Black Dress**

You drove me to the fire                                                                                                                                                                          and left me there to burn…

**

_It was some time ago, not too far away_

_From the place in time we call today_

_In a land far and close at the same_

_Time when began this game_

_You've all heard the tale of the Pumpkin King_

_But did you wonder what happened after he made Sally his queen?_

_Why, he had curious Lirit and little Pan;_

_The first two of the five in the Skellington Clan_

_It had been years since that fateful holiday_

_How many, I can't rightfully say_

_But it was on Christmas not so long ago._

_Trouble was headed their way, though no one could know…_

            December twenty-fourth had come and gone swift as always in Halloweentown.  From the moment the orange jack o' lantern sun rose in the morning to the resurrection of the bone-white full moon in the evening, it appeared to be an ordinary day.  The Mayor, quite literally a two-faced politician, hurried about, stopping to bark orders at those preparing for the one night that really mattered.   All the children ran about, laughing and playing from the little witch Shock to Lirit, the living porcelain doll.  Vampires traded bloody secrets back and forth in the run-down Transylvanian café along the murky river slicing the town in half.  Witches cackled to each other as they stirred various brews in huge bubbling cauldrons hidden within their cottages on the outskirts.  Hanged men perched upon the demon tree exchanged throat-slitting stories while reminiscing about the good old days.  Everywhere, it seemed that each citizen was busy planning for Halloween.  However, one figure was prominently missing.

            "Where's Jack?" a stout man in a hat twice his height screamed through a mega phone.  Several people poked their heads up.

            "He's in the cemetery," a once-pretty, feminine blonde zombie replied.  "He's always there."  She then turned back to her brother, a shorter blonde.

            "Try the forest, Mayor!" perked up a short Nessie attempting to carve a jack o' lantern.

            The Mayor shook his head.  "No, I've checked both those spots."

            The Creature from the Black Lagoon poked her head out of the river at his feet.  "It's obvious he's with Sally," she scoffed.  "Honestly, he's already got an heir.  The Pumpkin King has no other need for a silly rag doll anyway."  She flicked some sludge off her flipper while pretending to check her non-existent fingernails.  "Not even a real Halloween creature…"

            From her hiding spot, Lirit peeked out from underneath the tablecloth.  No one seemed to notice the waif of a girl listening in on the conversation.  Her long auburn hair hung tangled and thick, surrounding her small round ivory face.  Long black lashes framed her wide blue eyes, complimented by a barely-there nose and small red lips.  Lirit blew a stray tress of hair out of her face and leapt up, hitting her head on the table.

            "Ouch!" she cried, rubbing her crown and ignoring the gazes of those around her.  She stood up, brushing dust off her plain blood red dress and scampering off toward Skellington Manor.  The Mayor watched her go and turned back to the Creature.

            "Little brat's probably not even Jack's real daughter," she said.  "Just look at her.  She's purely Sally's child."  She leaned forward and cupped a hand to her mouth, motioning to the Mayor.  He leaned down to listen.  Several zombies and mummies leaned in, unnoticed.

            "If you ask me, she resembles Armand," the Creature whispered.  She smirked to let the notion sink into the Mayor's skull.

            He gasped.  "You're not suggesting Sally…"

            She shrugged.  "I'm merely making an observation.  Just compare the girl to Armand."

            A series of gasps arose from the crowd in the square.  "Did you hear that?" Johnny, the younger zombie asked his sister Judith.

            She nodded.  "She called the Queen a whore!"  More gasps broke out and in a flash, a wave of conversation overtook the crowd.  The Creature merely smiled slyly as though she'd meant to evoke such a reaction. 

            "Hmph…"  The Mayor frowned at her and pulled his hat further down over one of his eyes.  "I'll be heading over to see Jack and Lirit, who, I assure you, is his."  He gave her another tut of disapproval and waddled off to his hearse.

            "Don't come crying to me when you find out the Pumpkin Princess is part vampire!" she called after him.  She lowered her green eyelids and submerged herself into the murky olive water.

            Judith watched warily as the Creature disappeared from sight.  She pushed a few locks of her hair behind her ear and smoothed out her old-style dress.  A concerned mummy turned to her.

            "You don't think she's right?" she asked.  One brown eye was visible underneath all the bandages, wide and concerned.

            Judith firmly shook her head.  "She just likes to get everyone in a big fuss.  I suppose it's her way of amusement since she can't scare anymore.  Kids today just aren't scared of sixties monsters anymore."

            "I certainly hope this rumor doesn't reach Jack.  He does go a bit too far sometimes.  Just think of how he treated Isobel," the mummy muttered.

            "Um hm," Judith murmured, hardly listening.  She was watching the Creature's form swim down the river.

            "If I were Isobel, I'd be rolling in my grave-"

            "Excuse me," Judith cut in.  She smiled at the mummy before heading down the main street of Halloweentown.

            Else where, Lirit ran like the wind through the icy weeds in the fields on the outskirts.  Her spider-like long legs made running a breeze.  They were easily twice as long as her torso.  Lirit had always been tall for age, towering above each one of her classmates at the only school in Halloweentown.  She always felt a bit out of place around children her age, but she never spent more time than necessary with them.  She preferred to spend time with her parents or by herself rather than congregate with anyone else.  This, of course, raised some suspicion among the citizens.  They couldn't comprehend why the Pumpkin Princess, heir to the throne, didn't want to spend time among her future subjects.  It wasn't that Lirit was anti-social.  In her eyes, Jack and Sally were like gods.  When she was with them, it was like being before two stone deities.  Everything they did or said was perfect.  She would often ask them to tell her stories of what the world was like before her birth.  Hours would pass before she was satisfied, and even then all the threads did was let her taste their experiences on the tip of her tongue, lasting like wasabi; hot yet only for a moment.  She could never get enough of her parents' stories.  So taken was she that no contact with anyone else could measure up.

            Racing through the long grass, Lirit saw her house in the distance.  She threw her body forward, running faster and faster.  She stopped at the back gate, being careful not to let the rusted latch swipe her fingers.  She then ran through her mother's now-dead flower bed and into the house, letting the back door swing and squeak on its hinges.  She stopped in the study where Jack sat at his desk, reading from a brightly-colored book.   Just like a puppy eager for affection, she gazed up at him, holding the innocent cherub face all children do.  Presently, Jack looked down at her.

            "Back so soon, Lirit?  How was it in town?"  He smiled and scooped his daughter up with his bony hands and placed her in his lap.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up at his hardly-visible coal eyes in their hollow sockets.

            "It was…cold," she replied.  "Like snow."  

            "Snow, eh?  Where would you get such an idea?" he playfully asked, his eyes twinkling.

            Lirit couldn't contain her giggles.  She burst out laughing and hugged him tighter.  "From you, of course!" she cried.

            "From me?  Why, I've never heard something so ridiculous," Jack replied, playing innocent.  Lirit jabbed him with her elbow and he began to laugh too.

            "What's going on in here?" came a sing-song voice.  Jack and Lirit looked to the doorway to see Sally with a smirk on her face.  Lirit jumped down from her father's lap and ran to hug her.

            "Hi Mommy!" she said cheerfully.  Sally crossed her arms over her chest.

            "Don't 'hi Mommy' me.  You left the back door wide open."

            Lirit giggled.  Suddenly, a familiar aroma hit her nose.  "Did you make cookies?" she asked, her eyes wide with excitement.

            "Yes, but first close the door," Sally replied.  "Naughty girls don't get sugar cookies."

            Lirit happily skipped off to close the backdoor.  Sally watched her go, smiling a proud little smile.   Jack rose from his seat and strode over to her in the doorway.

            "You made sugar cookies?" he asked her.

            "Well…it's an easy way of bringing a little you-know-what here without getting her quite so riled up," she said, squirming under his gaze.

            "How strangely Christmas-like of you," he said softly, chuckling.  She smiled as they leaned in for a quick kiss.

            "Yuck!"  They turned to Lirit who stood, scowling.  "Do you have to do that when I'm around?" she asked, giving them a strange look.  Just then, the sound of the doorbell, a screaming banshee, hit their ears.

            "Must be the Mayor," Jack said.  He strode elegantly down the hall and to the front door where he was greeted by none other than the Mayor.  The Mayor was struggling to hold several blue-prints rolled up into long tubes.

            "Ah, Jack!" he said once he had composed himself.  "I just thought I'd come over with the new plans for next Halloween.  I have a feeling they'll be much to your liking."

            Jack clapped his palms together.  "Wonderful!  Just bring them into the study."  Jack turned around to lead the Mayor.  Unfortunately, the Mayor's hat was a bit too tall to fit through the door.  He quickly removed it before entering.  Once again the doorbell rang.  Jack twirled around on his right foot to get it, but Sally stopped him.

            "You have to okay those plans.  I'll get the door," she offered, smiling.  The Mayor shuffled by her as she walked toward the door.  He tipped his hat to her.

            "Lovely to see you again, Sally.  How's Pan?"

            "Just fine, thanks."  The Mayor had always been fond of Sally.  She was a woman of few words but whenever she did speak, she could be counted on to be polite and mean what she said.  He greatly respected her as the Pumpkin Queen and was pleased Jack had chosen such a well-suited lady for his wife.

            Sally opened the front door and was surprised to see Judith standing on the doorstep.  Judith wore a clean, pressed sixties-style knee-length dress and her hair was pulled back with a blue headband.  She and Sally had been casual friends for quite sometime and Sally had grown to enjoy having female input and company.  Like Sally, Judith was pleasing to the eyes in some respects, but just the same, her flaws were apparent.  She had originally been human until she'd been maimed by a zombie.  Her left arm was no more than a stump and her neck had a chunk taken out, but her slender figure had remained the same.  Her skin was quite pale but retained the human glow many before, like her brother, had lost.

            "Judith, please come in," Sally said, holding the creaky front door open.  Judith smiled and stepped in, pulling off her jacket.

            "Thanks," Judith said.  "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

            "Nope.  Pan's taking his nap and Lirit's in the kitchen.  Would you like some tea?  Maybe a sugar cookie?" Sally offered.

            "Sounds wonderful," Judith replied.  Sally led her into the adjoined kitchen decorated in a gray bat motif.  Lirit sat at the rickety kitchen table, nibbling on a cookie.  Sally poured her a glass of some murky Acid No. 3.

            "Why don't you take some cookies and your drink upstairs?" she suggested.  "Judith and I were just about to talk in here."

            Lirit nodded as she swallowed her cookie, grabbing a handful and the acid.  She ran along upstairs, making clacking noises on the stairs.  Sally turned to Judith once she heard Lirit's door slam shut.  "Was there any particular item you wanted to talk about?" she asked.

            Judith bit her lip.  "Yes, but I feel a bit silly mentioning it to you."

            "Why?  What is it?" Sally asked as she placed her old black cat-shaped kettle on the stove.  She took a seat across from Judith at the rickety kitchen table.

            Judith shifted uncomfortably in her seat and folded her hands in her lap.  "Well…there's this rumor going around town.  About you, Jack and Lirit, specifically."

            "Like what?"  Sally leaned forward on her elbows, staring directly into Judith's eyes.

            Judith paused for a moment before replying.  "Do you know Armand?" she asked when she finally spoke.

            Sally shook her head.  "Not well, no.  He's quite the secretive vampire.  No one knows much about him.  Why?"

            "The Creature from the Black Lagoon seems to think she does.  She told the Mayor that Lirit is…"  Judith leaned across the table and whispered something.

            "Pardon?" Sally asked.  "I didn't hear you."

            "She told the Mayor Lirit is Armand's daughter," Judith said.  She winced, expecting her friend to have a rare outburst.

            Sally merely sat back, furrowing her brow.  "That's crazy.  Jack made such a big deal of the occasion when she was born too.  How could they think she wasn't our daughter…" she trailed off.  Suddenly, it hit her like an anvil.  Her face turned bright red.  "You mean to tell me she thinks I would ever do something like that to Jack?   That Armand and I did such a thing?" she cried, leaping up from her chair.

            "W-well…" Judith stammered, biting her nail earnestly.

            "You and Armand did what?" came a regal, inquiring voice from the door.  Both women turned to the doorway to see Jack, tall and proud, at the entry to the kitchen in front of the Mayor who had a distressed look on his face.

            Sally straightened up and looked at her husband with all the dignity of a woman who has been through hell and back.  "Jack, it seems a rumor is spreading among the citizens that Lirit is Armand's daughter," she said matter of factly.

            "What?!" he asked at once, obviously fuming.  He turned to the Mayor, his eyes mere slits in his skull.  "Did you know anything about this?" he spat tenaciously.

            The Mayor cowered.  "I- I didn't see fit to bring it up.  You know how these rumors are.  They're impossible to control and none of them are true.  I saw no point in informing you of such a silly story," he offered, chuckling nervously.

            "When the queen's reputation is at stake, you always inform me," Jack whispered through gritted teeth.

            The Mayor caved.  "I'm sorry!  But she made it sound almost believable.  It would explain why Lirit doesn't resemble you."  His blubbering had succeeded in destroying the slim thread keeping Jack from completely blowing up at him.

            "Out of my sight at this moment!" Jack barked.  He lunged at the Mayor who darted out of the house in an instant, dropping all his blue prints in the process.

            "Nice to see you, Sally.  Let's do it again sometime," Judith mumbled before rushing out.  Jack breathed deeply, his chest heaving as he recovered from his rage.  Sally took his hand, squeezing it.

            "He didn't mean that," she told her husband softly.  Jack released himself from her grip and tramped into the living room.  Sally frowned sadly and followed him.  Jack sat down in his armchair in front of the fire, crossing his arms, hunching over and frowning as he gazed intently at the flames.  Sally wrapped her long arms around his neck from the back of the chair.

            "Jack, you understand how much I care about you, don't you?  I would never do anything to hurt you," she said softly.  Jack sat up.

            "Of course I do," he said.  "It just disgusts me that my own citizens could spread something so repulsive around.  That they could distrust you so much."  He pushed himself spryly up from the chair and began to pace back and forth.

            "Well, it's not as though I was the most popular person in town when you…"  She trailed off, blushing as she thought of things past.  "I mean, I'm the only one you ever considered to…"  Sally was never one for self-indulgence.  She never felt herself any better or of more honor than anyone else she happened to encounter.  Being the Pumpkin Queen required that she take the limelight once in a while, though she was never particularly fond of that aspect.  She much preferred being a wife and mother and the simple kind of life so many took for granted.

            Jack shot her a quizzical look at her remarks.  He raised a brow, asking her to explain.  She sighed.  "Jack, you can be so naïve sometimes.  It's as though you never noticed the whole time half the female population was swooning over you."

            "That's a bit exaggerated," Jack replied dryly.  "Every monarch has his admirers.  I'd been reigning for years so of course they'd feel some sort of pride."  Sally rolled her eyes playfully.

            "How did the topic change from their distrust to your aficionados?" she asked.

            "You make it sound like I'm some sort of god to them.  It's not as though they couldn't look at you with that same devotion."  Jack came to a halt on the blood red carpet, straightening up just in time to keep himself from falling over.  "That's it!" he cried, raising an index finger into the air.  He turned, grinning, to his wife.  "I know exactly what to do!  I want the public to get to know you as well as I do-"

            "I certainly hope not," she retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.

            "Well, you know what I mean.  I'll give you a job down at City Hall!  You can be my new people person.  Yes, that's it!"  He began to pace once again, much faster this time.  "You'll be my personal over-seer, making sure everyone is doing their part for next Halloween.  And you'll speak with all of them, writing down their ideas and suggestions…"

            "What about Pan?  He's just a toddler, Jack.  We can't leave him by himself."

            "I'll take care of him.  I'm always saying I need to spend more time at home.  This will be perfect, Sally!  You'll get a chance to get to know the citizens and I'll get to spend more time with Lirit and Pan.  A brilliant idea if I do say so myself."  He placed his hands at his waist and nodded, as if reassuring himself it was.

            Sally frowned, desperately searching for an excuse to stay out of the public eye.  "But…it really wouldn't be good for me to be moving all over Halloweentown when I'm…um, expecting."  She imitated his nod, pleased yet a tad unsure.

            "You are?" he asked.  He blinked several times.

            "Uh…not at the moment, but I was thinking about it and I thought it would be…fun."  She winced.  _Did I really just say that? She wondered._

            Jack chuckled.  "Interesting time to spring that on me."  

Sally just stared blankly at him.  She furrowed her brows a little and tried to comprehend his remark.  

"Merely joking, Sally," he replied, laughing a little louder.  She smiled, blushing.  It was hard for her not to feel at least a little embarrassed.  Jack understood.  Sally was very in touch with her emotions, though she often left them far from the surface.  It was hard to read her at first, but after seven years, Jack had gotten the hang of it.  She was so different from him.  Everyone in Halloweentown knew when he was mad or happy.  He took his role very seriously, always announcing each detail to the citizens.  If it weren't for Sally's objections, the entire town would know that she loved no one thing better than curling up with the kind of romance novel capable of making most people vomit.  Thankfully, he was respectful of his wife's right to privacy and many personal matters had managed to stay submerged.  However, this didn't stop him from mentioning how his spirited little daughter had already taken an interest in scaring tactics or how Pan could run so early on in his life.  Sally didn't mind the little things, knowing he only said them because he was proud of his family.

Seeing her red face, he smiled even broader.  He stretched his bony hand out to pull her face up from to the ground to his.  "I know you're not much of a socialite, but I really want everyone to understand you so this kind of thing doesn't happen again."

She smiled a genuine smile.  "I know."  He leaned forward to plant a soft kiss on her forehead, but her face suddenly lit up even brighter and she pointed out the window.  "Look, Jack!  It's…it's…snow!"  He spun around on his heels and faced the wide open window.  Through it, he could very plainly see the falling white flakes.  He was speechless as he watched them softly fall to the cold hard ground.  

"This hasn't happened in years!" he exclaimed, turning back to her.

"Seven years," she replied precisely.  "I wonder why Santa chose this year.  I could understand if he made it snow every five or ten years, but not seven."

"Hm…"  Jack mulled it over internally, his exterior mind focused on the snow.

"Maybe it's a sign," Sally suggested, thinking out loud again.  Secretly, she felt something creeping up on them.  Like an enigmatic ghost, it sneaked through the back alleys of her mind.  It wandered the streets with a purpose and glowing white eyes capable of silencing even the Pumpkin King himself.  It could fit through every lock, each door and window like a draft.  It stole into the houses where the husbands and wives lay sleeping, slicing past their beds and finally stopping at the sleeping children.  Looming over them like the angel of death which had claimed each of Egypt's first born, it reached its long spindly arms down and then-

"Let's have a Christmas party!"  Jack's newest brilliant idea shattered her thoughts.  She blinked a few times, trying to refocus on her husband.  He placed his skeletal hands on her shoulders to steady her.

"Sally, are you all right?" he ventured.  She mustered a smile.

"Fine.  It sounds like a wonderful idea, Jack," she lied.  He grinned at her and took her hand.

"I knew you'd like it.  Now, I just need to speak with the Mayor and then pay a visit to Santa.  Make sure Lirit and Pan are dressed in their best clothes.  I'll be back soon."  He kissed her quickly on the cheek and grabbed his jacket from the coat rack by the front door.  Zero immediately stirred and flew to his side.  He yipped and looked anxiously up at Jack.

"Looks like Zero wants to go with you," Sally observed, smiling.  Jack beamed and patted Zero's invisible head.  He led the ghost dog outside and before shutting the door, turned back to Sally.

"You can handle cooking, right?"

"Of course, Jack," she replied, her shy smirk present on her pale face.

"Great!  See you later."  As the door shut, Sally faintly heard the same three words she heard every day.  They almost never failed to make her smile, but at this moment, she had no time to focus on putting on a good face.  There was plenty of work to be done, gathering materials, getting the children ready.  Sally pushed her negative thoughts into the back of her mind, but they still stayed with her like a child tugging at his mother's dress.

Less than half a mile away from Skellington Manor, the Mayor sat in his car, twiddling his thumbs and looking quite concerned.  His face had switched from that of a happy politician to a white, toothy scared official.  Sure, he'd seen Jack angry before, but never in all his time in Halloweentown had he felt that rage directed at him.  He had always watched from the sidelines as Jack derided the individuals at fault.  It had been years since an ire but the Mayor could remember them vividly.  The last he could remember was about a decade back.

Isobel had been on trial.  She was a deathly white, pale beauty.  As she stood on the platform in the center of the town, every citizen had gazed up at her proud, arrogant face as she stood up to even the Pumpkin King.  Her ebony hair was pulled back in an elaborate bun, no strand left to hang.  Her lips were deep red and pulled into a devilish smirk.  She wore a tight-fitting black gown that stood out against her almost lavender-tinted skin.  Her hands rested serenely at her side, giving her the false look of a woman of regal status.  Green slits for eyes sparkled almost deliciously as she spoke.

"Perhaps your king is wary of telling the truth."  She let the words rolls delicately off her tongue and licked her lips, awaiting a rebuttal.  None came for quite some time.  Isobel breathed in heavily, making sure each pair of eyes could see her chest rise and fall.  Her pearly whites shone as she moved closer to Jack who stood several feet away.

"Jack, tell these people who I am," she said breathlessly with all the enunciation of a Moulin Rouge performer.  His face remained emotionless as he stared her down.  She pouted a bit and grabbed his right hand lying limp at his side.  She kissed it and held it to her cheek.   "Tell them I am the one and only.  Tell them you love me."

The faces spread wide about the crowd grew concerned.  The Mayor had lost his false smile and now rubbed his sweaty palms together.  Isobel cradled Jack's hand and traced a heart with his bony index finger on her throat.  He narrowed his eyes and pulled free of her grasp.

"You have no idea what you are talking about," he said forcefully.  Isobel looked taken aback.

"Liar!" she screamed.  "You promised me everything, you filthy liar!" Without thinking, she slapped him across the face.  Gasps erupted from the crowd.  She frowned and stared him down.  "You told me half of all this would be mine, that I would be your queen!  And then, you scorn me like this?  Liar!" she cried again, repeating the slap motion.  This time he caught her hand in mid-air.  His eyes hardened as his gaze sliced through her like a razor.

"Let go!" Isobel cried.  She tried to break from his hold on her, but could not.  She flopped wildly, yanking harder and harder, like a fish caught on a hook.  Eventually, he let go and she tumbled backwards, landing on her side.  Jack lowered his eyes and walked forward, offering her his hand to help her up.  He was still a gentleman, even to those who had wronged him.  Once she regained her footing, he spoke vehemently.

"I don't know if this is your idea of a sick joke, but never once did I promise you anything.  I am not the one at fault.  You kept coming round, begging me to bestow on you a royal title and when I politely declined, you could not take that answer.  Admit it- you have been doing nothing but harassing me since then, pleading with me to realize that I _love you."  He grimaced at use of the word.  "And when I asked you to leave me be, you insist on spreading such rumors that I have pushed you to the wayside.  My patience has all but run out."  The tone in his voice took a harsher turn as he let the words sink in.  "What reason can you give me not to exile you now?" he said, his eyes narrowed to cat-like slits._

Isobel mimicked his look and pressed her forehead to his before doing the unthinkable.  She spat in his face.  That did it.

"How dare you make such a mockery of me?  Of my morals and ideals?  And when I give you one last chance to prove yourself, you manage to botch that!"  He motioned to the werewolf guards at the opposite end of the podium. 

"Have you no respect?" he continued, his anger welling up at the woman who had dared to show so much defiance.  "I am through trying to rationalize with you.  In fact, this town is through with you!"  He snapped his fingers and a guard came forward to wrap a blind fold around Isobel's eyes.  She screamed and kicked, fighting hard against the guard's force.  

"Make sure to take her far away," Jack commanded once she was carefully bond.  "From this day forward, never again are you to set foot in my domain.  I hope you're pleased with yourself, Isobel."

As the guards dragged her to the jailer's cart, she cursed him.  "A plague on your house!  Never will life be easy for you as it is now, I will see to it.  When you abandon your citizens and your purpose, be aware that it is my doing!  When your bride and children suffer, I'll be there!  And when you, Jack Skellington, finally turn to dust, I will be the one laughing as you beg for my forgiveness!  You love me, I know it!  And when you finally realize it, only then will your pain cease."  

The cart drove off in the way of the forest, but Isobel's words hung in the air like a thick fog, only settling after much time.

The Mayor shivered as he remembered the haunting incident.  Only Isobel and Oogie Boogie had received such ill-treatment in the history of Halloweentown.  He wiped a few beads of sweat off his forehead, praying he wasn't dealt the same fate.  He would have to apologize in as humiliating a manner as existed in order to secure his position, but it seemed worth it.  His chance for groveling came sooner than expected.

Strolling jauntily down the road with Zero at his side was Jack, humming a particular Christmas tune and watching the snow fall.  The Mayor leapt out of his hearse the moment he saw Jack and immediately grabbed him by the legs, falling knee deep in the snow.

"Jack, please forgive me!" he cried.  "I meant nothing by it, simply that Lirit resembles Sally much more than you.  Please, please pardon my actions!"

Jack gazed down, amused by the stout man groveling at his feet.  He chuckled quite loud.  The Mayor looked up, a puzzled looking weaving itself into his face.  He quickly realized Jack wasn't going to banish him and stood up to his full height and began wiping the snow off his trousers.

Jack stifled a few last guffaws and poised himself.  "Mayor, tell everyone to be at Skellington Manor this evening for-" He paused for effect- "A Christmas party."  His work done, Jack walked off towards the forest, Zero whipping alongside him.  The Mayor stood dumbfounded in the middle of the street.  He quickly composed himself and headed for town to make the announcement, the quiet sounds of a saddening, tragic street band tune floating on the wind to the ears of anyone who would listen.

**

While Christmas came once a year, anyone new to Christmastown would have thought otherwise.  On any given day during the year, one would find each elf participating in making toys, polishing Santa's sleigh or just generally helping the holiday run smoother.  This constant joyous movement, this monotony, had always thrilled Jack.  In a world filled with grim glee, he was always surrounded by tricks and treats.  But here, it was so different.  Christmastown shone and sparkled brilliantly against the aurora borealis kissing the mountain tops.  He had not been here in years and even now, this was only his second time visiting the mirage-like dream land.  As he strolled the candy cane streets and admired the lights, his thoughts dwelled on his family.

_If only they could see these things, he thought.  __Sally would love the artistic air.  Lirit and Pan would be transfixed by the toys and lights.  If only they could be here to see the other holidays!_

He walked past the pastel factories and found himself right where he'd hoped to end up.  The house was quite large by any standards in Halloweentown, but quite small compared to the buildings here.  It was made of tough red brick and its roof was trimmed with candy cane gutters as it opened to the sky.  Jack took a deep breath, smoothed back his non-existent hair and  knocked once on the door.

"I'm coming!" he heard from a deep but kind voice inside.  The door was thrown open and Jack found himself face to face with the purpose of Christmastown.  The man was fairly short and quite stout, even more so than the Mayor.  Jack thought he rather looked like a round ball in a red suit with a beard.  His arms were mere stubs on his body and clothed in tiny black gloves.  Upon his feet was a pair of old and weathered black boots.  The man looked past his round cherry nose and from underneath his slouching red cap at the curious-looking skeleton at his doorstep.

"Jack Skellington?" he asked, raising a white eyebrow.

Jack's face lit up and he shook Santa's hand enthusiastically.  "It's wonderful to see you again!"

Still quite puzzled, Santa furrowed his brow.  "Jack?  What on earth are you doing here?  Not another holiday campaign, I hope.  Didn't you hear me when I told you to listen to Sally?  Honestly, she's the only one in that town with enough brains to leave some holidays be!"

"Oh, no."  Jack shook his head.  "I'm just here getting supplies for a Christmas party.  I hope you don't mind."

"So you're not trying to take over for me again?" Santa asked again.

Jack shook his head once more, hoping he got the message.

Santa chuckled, his belly shaking like a spoonful of pudding.  "Well, in that case, come inside."  He moved back and held open the door.  Jack ventured forward, banging his head on the too low door frame first.  He rubbed his forehead but crept down in order to fit.  Zero followed, barking a hello to Santa, who happily shared his salutations.  He led Jack to a large red chair next to the fire and then took his seat on the plump apricot couch opposite.  Once he was settled, he turned to his guests, smiling broadly.

"Well, how have you been since when I last saw you?  It's been quite a long time."

"Good, good.  Halloweentown has been blossoming much more than in a long while and I feel better than ever," Jack replied.

"And how are those little hooligans who managed to make a mess of things and clean it up?" Santa asked.

Jack grinned a wide toothy smile.  "Lock, Shock and Barrel are still the top trick or treaters in town, but they're much better off without Oogie Boogie."

"And Sally?  The sweetest rag doll I ever did meet.  She'd be a good match for you," Santa said, a twinkle in his eye.

"I know.  We actually married not too long after you left.  Sally's definitely a foil for me, but I think we're similar in some respects.  I know she'd love Christmastown."

"Most people do.  Some a little too much.  That's wonderful, though.  Any children?"

"Two at the moment.  Lirit's five and Pan just turned two recently."

"Have you told them about…"  He trailed off, not sure if the subject should be brought up.

Jack caught the hint.  "Lirit's heard some Christmas stories, but we've never mentioned that particular incident.  I think Sally's wary of the impression it might have on them."

"Oh, I don't think that's it.  That was a trying time for the two of you and it might not be so easy to bring back to memory.  She almost lost you, you know.  That's not the kind of thing she wants to remember," Santa replied.

"True."  Silence ate into the atmosphere of the room as both gazed at the fire leaping in the hearth.  After a few moments, Saint Nick spoke.

"You said you were throwing a Christmas party, did you?"

Jack nodded.  "I planned on taking a tree, some lights and some gifts, of course.  Is that all right with you?"

"Of course.  I'm Santa Claus, the spirit of giving.  You don't honestly think I'd refuse to allow someone to bring Christmas cheer to his family, do you?"

"I suppose not."  Jack felt his face warm with the rare embarrassment disease.  "Everything just ended on such a bad note, I was afraid perhaps you still held a grudge against me."

"Well, I may have been a bit shaky about you coming here again, but I've realized that notion wasn't well-harbored," he confessed.  "We all make mistakes.  Some are just a bit more noticeable than others."  Seeing Jack's downcast face, he added, "Of course, that's not to say we can't be redeemed.  I have every faith in you, Jack.  You'd never make the same mistake twice."

"Not with the results I got the first time," Jack replied.  

"Now, tell me all about Lirit and Pan," Santa said to break the ice.  "Do they resemble you or Sally more?"

Jack's sullen look changed as his face brightened.  There was so much catching-up to be done.

He and Santa talked for a few hours, discussing everything from the way Sally had insisted on keeping her patchwork dresses to the fact that Lirit could whip any child, girl or boy at sprinting.  When the third hour rolled around, Jack looked at the clock.

"Uh oh.  I better get moving.  Sally will be wondering what's keeping me."  He stood up and stretched his arms and legs, careful not to hit his head on the ceiling.  Zero rose from his place on the floor.  Santa waddled to the door and held it open.

"Don't hesitate to take whatever you think the family would like.  They deserve a holiday," he told Jack, smiling.

"Thank you very much," Jack replied sincerely.  "Come by Halloweentown someday."

Santa chuckled, making his belly shake more than usual.  "Careful, I may just take you up on that offer."

As Jack walked off into the crystal clear winter's night, plucking various holiday items up, he hoped things would always be as perfect as they were in that moment.

**

"Lirit, stand still, please."  Sally had dressed Lirit in a pretty blood red dress, strapped on her shiny black shoes and was now attempting to brush her hair.  Lirit stood, fidgeting, in front of the cracked bathroom mirror, watching a spider eat a fly in the corner.  Sally pulled the brush through one last lock and retrieved a matching red ribbon from a drawer.  In one quick movement, she pulled a few locks back with a bow.

"There," she said.  "Don't you look pretty?"  Lirit gazed at her reflection in the mirror.  Her skin was a bone-white with two huge blue eyes peering out.  Her nose was almost non-existent like her mother's.  She pouted her mouth out, pursing her light rose lips.

            "I look nothing like Dad," she stated matter-of-factly.

            Sally smirked.  "Of course you do.  You're tall for your age and very thin.  Besides, I know there's a lot of him hidden in you.  You're both so curious.  But you do look a lot more like me."

            "See?  How can they expect me to become the new ruler of Halloweentown if I look nothing like my Dad?"

            "Lirit, it's not what's on the outside that counts.  It's what's inside.  Jack's very spooky on the outside, but he's really very kind, loving, sweet, not to mention…"  Sally trailed off, mumbling something.

            "What'd you say?" Lirit asked.

            "Nothing, honey," Sally replied, twirling a lock of hair on her finger.

            "Did you just say Dad was good-"  Sally clamped a hand over Lirit's mouth.

            "Go downstairs, sweetie.  I think your father's home.  Go on."  She pushed Lirit towards the door.  Lirit happily complied and pranced down the stairs, rattling them like a chained ghost.  She heard the door open and ran to greet her father.  Zero had pushed open the door with his nose so Jack could bring in the tree.  Lirit had always thought of her father as the tallest thing in the world, but when she saw the tree, she could hardly comprehend it.  She quickly moved out of the way so Jack could scoot the tree in.  It took some effort but it finally slid into the house.  Jack wiped some beads of sweat from his head and turned to Lirit.

            "What do you think?" he asked her, grinning.

            "It's huge!" she cried.

            "My thoughts exactly," Sally chimed.  Lirit turned around to see her mother cradling her little brother at the bottom of the stairs.  "Jack, did you have to get one so large?" she asked.

            "Of course.  It's Pan's first real Christmas!" he joyous replied, dragging the tree into the living room.  Lirit ran after him while Sally followed them, trying not to smile.  After much jostling and work on everyone's part, the tree stood upright.  Jack placed his hands on his hips and surveyed their work.

            "Wonderful!  Now, Lirit, you're all cleaned up, right?" he asked.  Lirit nodded and looked disgustedly down at her spider-webbed dress, purple and white tights and black lace-up boots with bright pink stitches.

            "Yeah, but these clothes are icky," she said, wrinkling her nose.

            "You'll only have to wear them for a little bit," Jack told her, kneeling down.  "You can do that for your mother and I, can't you?"

            She looked thoughtful for a moment.  "Well, okay.  But Mom better make some more sugar cookies!"

            "That I can do," Sally replied.  "I'm going to be busy in the kitchen and your father will be setting up decorations, so you're going to need to keep an eye on your little brother."

            "That's easy," Lirit said, matter of factly.  "All you have to do is give him a picture book and his blanket and he goes right to sleep."

            "You have me beat," Sally replied, winking.  Turning to her husband, she asked, "Now, what exactly should I make?"

            "I've got a book.  I'll show you," Jack replied.  He and Sally headed off for the kitchen while Lirit and Pan trudged up the stairs.  Right before they reached her room, she looked further up the stairs.

            "I have an idea, Pan!  Let's go up to daddy's study!" she said enthusiastically.  Pan just sucked his bony thumb and blinked.  Lirit took this as a yes and began to climb the spiraling stairs to the laboratory.  Pan followed, trailing his blue blanket after him.  He could speak, he was just never one for words.  His parents knew he was much more intelligent than his silence made him appear and had never pushed him to say more than needed.  It was unnecessary to say, "I'd like some apple juice" when "apple juice, pwease" sufficed.  Lirit saw him as her own personal accomplice as he went along with everything she said.  While she resembled her mother, Pan was the spitting image of Jack.  His field of vision originated from dark empty sockets in his skull and he was most certainly a miniature version of the Pumpkin King, a Skellington in every way. 

            Lirit placed a finger to her lips and led Pan up to Jack's laboratory in the top tower.  Neither had ever been up there as Sally was afraid they might hurt themselves going up the rickety stairs.  Lirit had often stolen a peek of what was hidden in the trove, but never dared to enter.  Like some ancient Mayan temple laid to rest, it was almost too sacred to set foot inside.  As far as she knew, her mother and father hadn't been up there in years.  And now, knowing she was going to set foot on such holy ground, Lirit couldn't help but feel humbled.  For about five seconds!

            She and Pan raced into the room quick as a wink and marveled at what they saw.  It was as though the place had been over-run by spiders.  The eight-legged freaks had knitted a giant web that spread across the entire room, entangling itself around chairs, desks and books of every shape and size.  Lirit immediately began unraveling the webbing from each corner and motioned for Pan to help her.  In a few moments, the web was wrapped up and the treasures were theirs to discover.  Lirit went to town with the various books on one of the desks while Pan amused himself with the white chalk and its black board.  Lirit went through the story of Rudolph pretty fast and picked up A Christmas Carol next.  However, upon discovering it had no pictures, she decided to look around some more.

            Upon one desk was an assortment of scientific tools Lirit had seen in the rare movies at the broken-down cinema.  There was a microscope with shards of red tinted glass around the base.  She looked through it, but couldn't see much of anything.  Next to this was a large beaker above a boiler, filled with a mix of pink water.  It smelled like peppermint Lirit determined upon further inspection.  On the other side of the table was a strange looking toy.  She could tell it was meant to look like a bear, but instead of sharp teeth, it bore a smile.  It was sliced down the middle of its stomach, revealing quite a bit of white fluff.  Lirit wrinkled her nose at this and headed to the window where a small basket was perched.  She pulled it down from the windowsill and inspected its contents.  Inside was a fish skeleton, some stale bread and a bottle.  From the looks of it, the bottle had once contained something, but Lirit wasn't sure what.

            She decided this would take some thinking and pondering and, seeing a chair covered in strings of broken lights, she sat down.  It was at this choice moment that Sally and Jack came up the stairs.

            "What are you doing up here?" Jack asked, a genuinely startled look on his face.

            "Nuthin'," Lirit fibbed as she hopped down from the chair and walked over to her parents.  She held out the basket.  "We found this."

            Jack inspected it and smiled when he held up the bottle for Sally to see it.

            "Why, that's my-"  She gasped, amazed that the bottle was still in existence.

            "Can you still do that?" Jack asked her.  Sally just gazed at the bottle.

            "I…I think so.  It might take some time though."  She took it from his hands and held it up into the air as if deciphering it.  After a few moments, she turned back to her family.  "Lirit, Pan, go play.  I don't like you being up here where I can't know you're safe," she told her disappointed children.

            "Dad," Lirit whined, facing Jack with her patented puppy-dog eyes.  He shook his head.

            "Listen to your mother.  Now, I'll show you how to set up your Christmas stockings while your mother gets ready," he replied.  Lirit and Pan's eyes lit up and they eagerly complied, running down the wiggling stairs.  They slinked by Sally and Jack quite fast, causing them to temporarily lose their balance and sending Sally into her husband's arms.

            "Oh…um…oof," she meekly replied, just now remembering what it felt like to be in such a compromising position.  Jack just smiled at her embarrassment.

            "Hm…now, when was the last time I saw you like this?" he teased.

            "A long time ago," Sally replied, composing herself.  "But there's no time for that now.  I have to get ready and you are under the obligation to make sure nothing burns in the kitchen."

            She carefully descended the stairs, blushing furiously.  _Still the same old Sally, Jack thought as he gazed happily after her._

            Once in her bedroom, Sally quickly brushed through her hair and wrapped it up in a tight French bun.  She looked at her reflection in the cracked mirror and frowned.  It was almost too exact, too perfect.  She pulled a few hairs out from the bun, allowing some wispy strands to call attention to her face.  From her closet, she pulled a long, flowing black gown.  She'd bought it a couple years ago before Pan was born.  It was originally intended to motivate her, though she'd never bothered to pull it out.  She had always been slender and everyone had a feeling she always would be.  There were often gatherings at Skellington Manor, but she never felt the need to dress up.  However, this time things were different.  She knew how much Jack appreciated Christmas and decided it was high time she showed a bit more respect for his interests.  It wasn't as though she wasn't a supportive wife.  She just came off as apathetic more than either would like to admit.  As she came down the stairs quietly, she hoped her reserved nature might not be misunderstood quite so much.

            **

            "Wow."

            That was all Jack could say as he stood in the center of the living room.  If he were a cartoon, his jaw would most certainly have hit the floor.  Sally looked a bit uncertain as she descended the stairs, grasping the banister with her right hand.  She looked absolutely stunning in a long black gown.  It hugged her barely-there hips at the waist and then proceeded to remain straight up until its end.  In waves, the bottom of the dress spun around her tiny feet as she walked.  As she lifted it in front to step off the stairs, Jack could make out her hidden black stiletto heels.  His eyes panned her, beginning at her feet and upwards to her downcast face.  She gazed down at the hard wood floor, avoiding his gaze.  Eventually though, she chanced to look up and make eye contact.  He smirked when he noticed her cheeks blushing a deep carmine color.

            "Hi," she spoke softly as she twiddled her thumbs in a rhythmic fashion.

            By this time, Pan and Lirit had looked up from their work decorating the tree and were now gazing at their mother and her metamorphosis.

            "Mom…you…you," Lirit stammered, still enamored by the sight.

            "You're very pretty," Pan said, smiling.  Lirit looked down at him, surprised he'd uttered so much as a word, enunciating correctly nonetheless.

            "He's right, you know," Jack added as he grinned his old Skellington smile.  

            "Oh…um, thank you."  Sally pushed a lock back behind her ear and shyly smiled back at her husband.  "It was just sitting there in the closet and I…well, you…I didn't want it to go to waste."

            "You look lovely."  Jack offered her his arm and she looped hers through it.  "Everything's almost done in the kitchen," he informed her.

            "Thanks for handling that," Sally replied, smiling not quite so timidly now.

            "No trouble at all," he said, gazing into her eyes.

            With classic timing, the doorbell promptly screamed.

            "I'll get that," she offered, loosening her arm from his.  He headed into the kitchen to pull the various Christmas foods from the oven.  Sally quickly opened the door and was greeted by the Mayor.  "Good evening," she said in her trademark cheery soprano.

            The Mayor tipped his hat, which was now adorned with a large poinsettia blossom.  "Evening, Sally."  He jauntily walked into the house as he did each and every day.  Sally grimaced when he once again forgot to wipe his feet.

            "Wow!  You look great!"

            Sally turned back to the doorway and saw Judith smiling broadly as she held out a dish of Peanut Brittle.  She thrust the pan to Sally, still wearing a pair of pumpkin orange oven mitts.

            "Try some!  It's delicious."  Judith beamed as her friend took the tray.  Her light hair was pulled back with a black headband and she wore a short brisk red dress that rose just below the knees in typical 60's fashion.  Johnny stood behind her, carrying a wobbly bowl of a milky liquid.  Sally looked at it questioningly.

            "Egg nog," Judith pronounced it.  "Very Christmasy.  It says so right here."  She whipped a small red book from her dress pocket baring the words "Recipes for a Traditional Christmas."  She pointed to a line.

            "Sounds nice, Judith," Sally replied.  "Go ahead and set it on the long table in the living room."  Judith and Johnny carefully wiped their feet on the door mat and headed down the hall.  Johnny bent down to tickle Pan, who had come into the hall to watch the spectacle, and nearly spilled the egg nog, carefully righting it at the last minute.  Sally breathed a sigh of relief.

            "Nice outfit," came an insincere voice.  It was none other than the Black Lagoon Creature who wore a bright green scarf with white trim.

            "Thank you," Sally replied equally as disingenuous.

            The Creature made a scoffing noise and lifted a foot to enter the house.  Sally coughed daintily and looked down at the door mat. The Creature grumbled, but wiped her feet and then made her way down the hall, making squeaking noises the whole way.

            The rest of the citizens were more or less the same.  Whenever someone new entered, Sally could be certain she would be greeted by a high-pitched whistle from the so-called gentlemen of the town and a grumbled "Where's Jack?" as an opposition from their female counterparts.  Needless to say, she was quite relieved when Jack took her place at the door.

            Inside the house, creatures of the night clouded every nook and cranny.  A crowd gathered around the tree, marveling at its many lights while another group assembled around the old phonograph player.  From out the speaker were spun many holiday-themed songs.  The most puzzling of them was a listing tune sung by a delicate mezzo soprano Judith assured was named Leigh Nash.  

            "You're a vile one, Mr. Grinch," her crinkling voice sang from out the funnel-shaped speaker.

            "Who do you suppose Mr. Grinch is?" a vampire wondered.

            "Perhaps it's the title Christmastown gave to Jack," another suggested.  Several nodded their agreement.

            Still another group marveled at the small nativity set accented by candles in the corner.  The Melting Man picked up the small manger child in the center, inspecting it discriminately. 

            "It's a feast for the animals!" the Clown with the tear-away face said confidently.

            A slim specter shook her head.  "I disagree.  It is obviously a vampire babe, controlling the humans.  Can you not see them bowing down to it?" she replied with a highly noticeable French accent as she motioned to the men and woman gathered around in the set.

            "It is Enkil in infancy!" the Melting Man pronounced.

            "Ah yes!" murmured his peers.  

            Lirit and Pan congregated with Lock, Shock and Barrel, engaged in an epic duel of sling shot as they ran throughout the house, bumping into a few people the whole way through.  For the most part, the party was a low-key affair.  There was no agenda.  It was simply an excuse to congregate or for the women to sigh about what could have been or both.  Jack had planned to address the citizens all at once, but that wasn't for quite some time.  As Judith was tied up, explaining Sixpence None the Richer to those interested in the curious "Mr. Grinch", Sally mainly wove in and out of the crowd, feeling very much alone as no one seemed to notice her.; "seemed" being the key word.

            She stopped at the drink table near the corner and poured herself a small glass of egg nog.  She figured she might as well try it.  As she raised the glass to her lips, a cold chill ran down her back.  The ghastly shadow she'd seen earlier flashed before her eyes.  The cup began to wobble in her hand.

            "Hello Sally."

            "Who's there?"  Sally whirled around to the corner of the room to see a figure bathed in darkness.  Two icy cold slits appeared in the shadow, two lines of red floating in a sea of milky white set against the larger outline of what appeared to be human, save for the angled slant.  Sally raised her cup as a means of defense, but the creature slid out of the shadows and up to her, taking her hand in its.  It was deathly cold.  The hand was a deep bone-white, but it was covered in what must have once been flesh.  Its skin was plastered to its bones, but seemed loose at the same time.  It was as though at any moment, Sally could grab the leathery material and yank it off, like a maître d' at a fancy restaurant.  She swore it would have slid gracefully yet grotesquely off the body in one quick movement, leaving an empty creation of rotting entrails.  She shivered at the thought.

            She gazed up at the body attached to the hand.  The creature, a male, was as tall as Jack, but he was bent over at odd angles that hinted he was probably a foot taller than her husband.  Thick, shaggy wet hair topped his head and fell into his glowing eyes.  The skin on his face was stretched across his skull like a tent tarp and looked as though it would break at any moment.  His nose was quietly well-defined and pointed out, but not in an overly-obvious way.  His lips were a tad pinker than his skin tone, but that was not saying much.  A long scar trickled down his face from the top of his right ear to where it wrapped around his collarbone in a disfigured x shape.  Just below this was a tiny gold star pendant which created a sort of clasp for his long black jacket.  It spread like a dark wildfire across his body, accenting his short dinosaur-like arms and creating a sort of membrane around him, as though he were a cell.  Underneath this coat, he wore a clean navy blue button up shirt a size too large for him.  Whenever he moved, the contours of his body created giant leaping waves in the fabric.  He wore long black pants that clung to his skinny legs and fell down to his rich black polished shoes.  Sally knew his name at once.

            "Armand."  The name stung her tongue and she wanted to bite it off immediately.

            "You know me then?" he spoke softly, kissing her hand.  His touch sent a wave of fear up her spine and she began to tremble.  He looked into her eyes and smiled, showing off two large ivory incisors.  "You're shivering," he observed.  "Let me warm you."  He stood behind her, towering above, and closed his arms around her shoulders, drawing her into his coat.  Sally pushed away from him, already frightened though she'd only known him a moment.

            "No, no, I'm fine.  Please excuse me.  I need to check on the kitchen," she lied.  She moved away and toward the crowd but he gripped her hand still.

            "Sally," he said quietly.  He paused for a moment and then whispered subdued, "You look ravishing."  

            "Thank you," she replied instinctively and turned to look for a way out.  He pulled her head back towards him.

            "You don't understand how appealing you are.  You are constantly cooped up with that fool of a skeleton and those children.  Can you not see you are not loved?  You need someone who will love you for who you are.  You need me," he whispered.  He held her face in his hands and gazed intently into her eyes.  She was paralyzed as he held her close, only her eyes darted back and forth, as though she were a living stature held captive in a temple.

            "Sally, you're the sun and the moon to me," he told her quietly, seductively and then leaned forward and kissed her passionately.  Her eyes grew wide in shock.  She wanted to scream, to push him back and run far, far away.  Her legs would not budge and her arms stayed stiff at her side.  The rest of the room melted away and all she became a stone figure in some hidden chamber, being kissed by a foreigner in her domain.  It was too much to bear.  Her lips formed in a silent scream of, "No!" and in one quick instant, she broke away from him.  The temple shattered and she was left in her own living room, gasping for air and staring at him.  He looked surprised as he stood in front of her, shocked that she had broken so fast.

            She couldn't look at him.  She ran through the crowd, grabbing Judith by the arm, and dragging her upstairs. Once inside her bedroom, she began to pace back and forth furiously.

            "What's wrong?"  Judith looked up at her friend from where she sat at the end of the bed with a concerned look on her face.

            "You know Armand?" Sally asked, frustrated and mad.

            "Not this again.  Sally, it's okay."  Judith sighed.

            "No, it's not," Sally replied forcefully.  "He just kissed me downstairs."

            Judith sprang up.  "What?  Why?  That jerk."  She headed for the door and opened it, motioning to Sally.  "C'mon.  You have to at least kick him out, if not immediately exile him.  Go get Jack."

            "No!"  Sally jumped forward and shut the door.  "I can't tell Jack!  Do you know how that would sound?  He'd make a big deal out of it and then I'd be in even more hot water with the town."

            "But that guy deserves to be punished.  You can't just let him get away with it."

            "Please, Judith, don't tell anyone," Sally pleaded.  Judith sighed after a moment and crossed her arms over her chest.

            "Okay.  But I do not like this.  Not one bit," she relented.

            "Thank you," Sally said, grabbing her hand to show her gratitude.  Judith pulled it free and sighed again.

            "You know you'll eventually have to tell him, right?"

            Sally bit her lip.  She wasn't sure how to reply.  Thankfully for her, she heard Jack from downstairs, trying to get everyone's attention.  She smiled weakly at Judith before meeting Jack at the bottom of the stairs.  She entwined her arm with his, if only to imprint on Armand's mind that this was where she belonged.  

            Jack raised his glass into the air.  "Merry Christmas!"  Sally smiled and moved closer to him.

            "To you, Jack!  May you always reign the Pumpkin King!" the Mayor said, followed by a chorus of agreements.  The citizens took another swig of their glasses.  After a moment, Armand raised his in the corner.

            "To Sally!  May she always be as lovely as she is now!" he chimed, almost mocking Jack.  This was greeted by less than the previous toast, but Jack heartily lifted his glass, which led to more following suit.  Sally furrowed her brow and clenched Jack's hand in hers, nearly yanking it out of its socket.

            "Are you alright?" he whispered, bending down.                   

            "Fine," she lied.  "Just excited, that's all."  Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Armand slink away and out the door, his eyes never leaving her.  Another chill went down her back and she clung loosely to Jack's side the rest of the night.

            The party lasted about an hour longer when the citizens began to leave.  By the time the house had been emptied out, a great mess lay upon the living room.  Judith had offered to help clean up, but Sally declined.  She ushered Pan and Lirit up to bed and then came downstairs to clean.  She had worked for less than an hour when Jack came tramping down the stairs, carrying a bag behind him.  Sally looked at him quizzically, unsure of what he was planning now.  He raised a finger to his lips, yanked her into the kitchen and then pulled something out of the bag.  It was a medium sized box wrapped in red paper and tied with a gold bow.  Sally gasped.

            **

            "Jack, you can't be serious."

            "Of course I am!  Technically, it's his first Christmas and he should know!"

            Lirit scooted further beneath the spider-silk comforter on her bed and buried her head into her soft pillow, pretending to sleep.  She could hear her parents talking from downstairs thanks to the small crack in her barely-open door.  A gleeful smile spread across her ivory white face.  She knew that despite her mother's objections, Christmas would once again come to the Skellington household.  It had been three years since she had seen the tall green tree in their living room, the many presents wrapped in glowing paper or watched the green and red lights twinkle on their string.  She was only two then, but she could remember everything vividly. 

            She glanced at the small rusted alarm clock on her nightstand and noted that it was a little before three.  She'd have to wait at least two hours until she could run downstairs to greet the cheery sight of the physical yuletide.  Two hours until her little brother could finally see what he had been missing.  What both of them had been missing.  Christmas never came in her home of Halloweentown.  Everything was always spooky and dreary, everyday.  That didn't stop her father from bringing bright-colored packages and real, _live snow home every once in a while.  Lirit would shriek with joy when she felt the crystallized water in her palms.  Jack would look on fondly as his wife Sally shook her head and rolled her rag doll eyes._

            Knowing she wouldn't be able to sleep, Lirit quietly jumped down from her high black canopy bed and tiptoed to the wire banisters at the top of the stairs.  Sally and Jack were talking in the kitchen and she could see their silhouetted shadows playing on the hardwood floor of the living room.  

            "Zero!" Lirit reverently whispered.  Seeing no movement in the study, she tried again, a little louder.  "Zero!"  That did it.  From the cold stone basket in the corner of the room, a silent specter of a dog emerged, his nose glowing red.  He glided up the stairs and reached Lirit where she stood perched on the banister.  A canine smile spread across his face and he began flying in circles around her ankles, making her blood red dress swirl in curves around her.  She giggled and then clamped a hand over her mouth.

            Downstairs in the kitchen, the sound hit Sally's ears.  She pushed aside some auburn yarn locks and strained to hear.

            "Did you just hear that?" she asked Jack.

            He shook his bone-dry skull at her.  "You don't think it's Lirit, do you?"

            Sally smirked.  "If I know anything about her, it's that she likes to eavesdrop around this time of year.  Shame on you for instilling holiday cheer in her."

            Jack shrugged playfully.  "Somebody had to do it."

            Sally stepped gracefully into the living room and looked up the stairs.  Jack followed right behind her, his tall figure looming over her.  "Zero's gone," he noted.  Sally nodded and began to climb the spiral staircase as her husband followed.  Upon reaching the top, she motioned toward the middle of the three doors.  It was covered in pictures of elves and crude cut-out snowflakes.  Sally rolled her eyes and quietly opened the door.

            In her bed, Lirit pulled the covers closer around her and pulled the pillow over her head.

            "Lirit," came her mother's sing-song voice.  Lirit didn't dare move.  Sally placed her hands on her hips and called again.  "Lirit…"  After a few moments without response, Sally tried a different approach.  "I know you're awake, you little spy," she teased.  Lirit made a quiet muffled groan and pretended to snore.  Sally turned to her husband.  "She's all yours," she said, motioning to the little lump in Lirit's bed.

            Lirit heard footsteps and then her door being closed.  Phew, she could breathe again.  Just as she sat up in bed, she was met with the most terrifying skeleton face she had ever seen.  She screamed, "Mommy!" as loud as undeadly possible.  Closing her eyes, she heard laughter.  When she dared to open them, her mother and father were chuckling by her closed door.

            "Scared you, didn't I?" Jack laughed as he wrapped his bony arm around Lirit's shoulder.  From the door, Sally mustered a few last giggles as Lirit's hyperventilating decreased.  Lirit frowned and jabbed her father with her elbow.

            "No fair!  Halloween was two months ago!" she said, crossing her arms across her chest.  Jack imitated her, down to her smug look.

            "Yes, but Christmas is today," he told her.

            "Jack," Sally nagged.  "You're just getting her riled up."

            "Are there presents?" Lirit asked her father as she rolled out of bed, her eyes wide with anticipation.

            Jack smiled and touched a finger to her nose.  "All that and more if you get up now."

            Lirit hugged him around the knees.  "Thanks, Daddy!"

            His heart melted and an even bigger smile unfolded across his face.  "Don't thank me.  Thank your mother for not killing me when I brought the idea up.  Now, go get cleaned up."  He gently pushed his daughter toward Sally as he strode to the door.  "I'll just be downstairs.  Why don't you get your brother up?"

            "I bet he's already up," Lirit said, opening the door.  She ran into the hall and then opened the door to her left, eager to get downstairs.  Jack chuckled and turned to Sally.

            "You don't mind, do you?" he asked.

            "No.  I suppose this cheer thing is good for them once in a while," she replied, smiling.  She followed Lirit into Pan's room, leaving Jack free to get things downstairs in order.

            Within a few moments, Lirit and Pan were tumbling down the stairs, racing to see who would be first to the tree.  Lirit won and promptly stuck her tongue out at her little brother, who showed her up by grabbing a present first.

            "Can we?" Lirit asked, putting on the puppy dog eyes for her parents.  Jack looked to Sally, who shrugged.

            "I guess so," she said teasingly.  That did it.  In a flurry rivaling the snowstorm outside, Lirit and Pan took to opening their presents rather quickly.  Jack and Sally sat back, watching the spectacle wide-eyed.  Eventually, they opened all their presents and wore each other out, arguing over who got to play with the xylophone.  

            "I'll be right back," Sally told Jack and quickly ran upstairs.  When she returned, she held out a long, skinny box wrapped in shiny green paper.  He took it and began to slowly unwrap it.

            "It's not much.  I mean, I hope it's not…" she stammered.  "I started late so I didn't have much time, but I think you'll…I mean, I hope it's not too…"

            Jack opened the box rather leisurely and gasped at what he saw.  "It's wonderful, Sally!"  He held up a skinny suit striped with red and white.  It was comparable to his Sandy Claws suit, yet strikingly different.  It was topped with a white undershirt and a brand new bat bow tie.  He grinned and took off his jacket with intention of putting on the new one.

            "You like it?" Sally ventured.

"Do I!  Thank you!"  He embraced her tightly and stood up to his full height so they could admire it.  He then pulled a small box out from underneath the back of the tree and handed it to Sally.

            "It's not nearly as nice, but I think you'll like it."

            Sally gingerly took the box and opened it, gasping just as Jack had a moment earlier.  She held it out so Lirit and Pan could see.  It was a bright gold band embellished with orange and white gems.

            "Jack, how did you ever-"

            "I called up the Mayor on some favors.  What do you think?"

            "Jack, it's beautiful.  Thank yo-"   Before she could finish, he placed a hand over her mouth and pulled her over to the corner.  She quivered a little, remembering what had happened in that same corner.  He pointed upwards.

            "Thank me now."  Above them hung a small sprig of mistle toe.  Sally began to blush furiously, wondering how she couldn't have noticed it.  He grinned at her and she couldn't help smiling back.  They leaned in and their lips met.  Lirit stuck a finger towards her throat and made gagging noises as her parents kissed.  Pan just smiled.  Once they were finished, Sally looked at the clock.

            "It's four o'clock in the morning!  You two, get to bed!" she instructed.  She didn't need to tell them twice.  Lirit and Pan sleepily climbed the stairs as Sally proceeded to once again clean the living room.  Jack stopped her.

            "Leave it for tomorrow.  I figured out a way for you to thank me again."

            "Oh yeah?  How's that?" Sally asked playfully.

            "Well, we're not doing anything tomorrow, so why don't we run away together?  We'll go to Christmastown."  Jack clasped her hand close to his chest.

            "What about Lirit and Pan?" she asked.

            "Judith can take care of them," Jack replied.  He pulled her towards the stairs.

            "Okay.  But we'll have to pack," Sally teased.

            "I know what I'm packing first."  In one quick movement, Jack lifted her up so she was resting in his arms.

            "Jack!"  Sally was laughing now, trying to stifle her chuckles.  He just kissed her forehead and proceeded to carry her upstairs.  Lirit observed all this from a crack through her door.

            It just wasn't right.  Parents weren't meant to giggle like little kids and joke about running away and- shudder- kiss each other.  They were meant to buy presents and avoid physical contact at all costs.  Lirit was sure it was written in stone somewhere.  However, as she watched her parents laughing and so happy, she figured she would let them off with a stern warning.  Tomorrow, though.  For now, all she could think about was getting some sleep.

            **

            Silently that early morning, as each citizen in Halloweentown lay snug in their bed, the snow stopped and promptly began to melt, creating puddles and pools of muddy slush along the roads.  The skeleton rooster stayed asleep for quite some time as the sun did not rise until late in the day.  There was no sound to rouse the citizens when morning separated itself from darkness.  Each and every creature lay sleeping at that hour, save for maybe a few frogs who sat on lily pads in the bog, frozen in eternal meditation.  A cold breeze wafted through the town, weaving in and out of the houses.

            In her bed, Sally shivered, half-asleep, and pulled the comforter above her soft fabric shoulders before curling up closer next to her husband.  She was asleep once more before the stirring began.

            From out of nowhere, a haunting tune began to play, carried on the tragic wind.  It stole into each and every home passing over the ears of the sleeping men and women before slinking into the rooms of each child.  There, it magnified itself several times until it was not just one flute playing, but hundreds.  

            In a snap, it awoke Lirit and she sprang from her bed to the floor where she stood straight and listened.  Upon the tune sang a high soprano.

            "Come, Lirit," it sang.  "Come to me, my child."  She was instantly hypnotized, a zombie slave to the music.  She took a step forward, then another and another until she was out of her room and walking down the stairs with Pan.  The voice and flute led them out the door and past the cemetery to the forest.  There, they were joined with every child in Halloweentown and then continued on.  Two people saw what was happening that night and only one cared to report it.

**

Whew!  **Black Dress is now finished!  Stay tuned for the next installment and thanks for reading.  Oh, and whoever finds the most pop culture references in this part gets to decide something very, very cool for later on in the story.  Get moving! ;)**


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